


To Break A Curse

by NikaylaSarae



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Curse Breaking, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing Talk, Negative Self Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25654642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaylaSarae/pseuds/NikaylaSarae
Summary: Logan looked at Roman, eyes dark. “I need you to really think about what you’re saying, because you’re going to hurt Virgil even more if you do not.“
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91





	To Break A Curse

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired from a two-sentence prompt on Tumblr.
> 
> Cross-posted with minor edits from my Tumblr account @stillebesat.

Logan looked at Roman, eyes dark. "I need you to really think about what you're saying, because you're going to hurt Virgil even more if you do not." 

It was always about thinking wasn’t it? Think it through. Think before you act. Think. Think. Think.

At least the darkness could hide Roman’s flinch as the two of them stopped by the edge of the lake behind his castle. “I have  _ thought _ about it plenty, Specs.” He said, keeping his tone as even as he could as he glanced down to Virgil lying motionless in his arms, hardly looking human now with how far the curse had progressed. 

A curse that could have been broken far earlier had their Emo Knightmare only chosen to come to him first about this instead of Patton or Logan. After all, Roman was the Prince! The Knight! The one who’d faced the Dragon Witch time and time again and had had plenty of practice in saving her victims from a multitude of varying curses.

Virgil would have been fine instead of--instead of--

Roman bit back a sigh. But he hadn’t. 

It made total sense why he wouldn’t too. Because even though Roman called himself a Prince...when it came to Anxiety--he had been anything but Charming. 

And now Virgil looked more like a shadow of a human--no more like the night sky in human form, his darkened skin sparkling with dozens of mini galaxies that swirled over his body now that they had left the light streaming from the castle windows. 

“Trust me, Lo.” Roman said, giving Logan a smile that he hoped would be seen as confident. “It’s how curses are broken. He just needs a kiss.” 

_ A Kiss.  _ Such a simple action for the self proclaimed Romantic of their group to make. Yet, Roman found his heart fluttering uneasily at the very thought. He and Virgil were barely crossing the line from Enemies to Frien--well probably Uneasy Acquaintances was a better term for their current status. So to  _ kiss  _ him? Unthinkable. 

Logan crossed his arms, lips pressing together in a thin line. “A  _ kiss _ .” 

Roman forced himself to not roll his eyes, hoping the darkness was hiding the blood he could feel rushing to his face. He knew how illogical it was, but that’s how breaking curses worked! “Yes, Sherlock. A kiss.” 

“But--” Logan turned abruptly away, shoulders bowing as he stared at the lake. “We already  _ tried that! _ ” He said, voice cracking. “It didn’t work!” 

Roman froze. Wait. Logic. LOGIC had--had---“Y-you already  _ tried-- _ ” 

“Both Patton and I.” Logan confirmed, his glasses catching the castle lights as he glanced to Roman. “Patton seemed certain after hearing the terms--and with your feedback on curses in the past, it was only logical--” 

Wait. “ _ Terms?  _ What terms! _ ” _ Roman demanded, shifting Virgil’s feather-light weight in his arms. Why hadn’t Specs mentioned that earlier when he’d first brought Anxiety to him?! Curses could backfire dramatically if they could only be broken a certain way! He would need to know exactl--

Logan waved a hand impatiently. “Not exactly terms per se. It’s a poem. But it’s the only clue we have to breaking Virgil’s curse. The Dragon Witch would say no more to us when we went to her.

Roman nearly dropped the Shadowling, his vision tunneling. The others had chosen to see the  _ Dragon Witch  _ before considering him? He could--he could have  _ helped  _ far sooner---Roman took a breath, calling upon his acting skills to keep his voice from shaking, from showing the betrayal clawing its way through his chest into his heart. 

_ Some Prince. What good are you if none of the others trust you to save the day? _

Sure, he and Virgil weren’t the best of friends, but that didn’t mean they needed to go to that--that  _ vile creature  _ before coming to him as a  _ last  _ resort! “What did she say?” He managed, grateful that his voice somehow remained steady.

Logan raised a hand to his glasses, adjusting them as he spoke. 

**_“Shadows spreading like a blight,  
_ _Only fixed under full moon’s light.  
_ _Greet him softly with all your love._  
_Accepting what you’re deprived of.  
_ _A single need, true form remake.  
_ _Where water pools, the curse shall break.”_ **

He cleared his throat, pulling at his tie as he turned back to Roman. “As you can see--”

He could see, unfortunately. Roman exhaled, absently running his fingers along Virgil’s arm, chasing a white and blue galaxy up to his elbow. “Yah, it’s pretty clear.” 

Logan raised his eyebrows. “It is?” 

Roman could practically feel the skepticism coming off him in waves. “Compared to previous curses I’ve had to break under the Dragon Witch? Yes.” He smirked, though with the leadened weight settling in his stomach, it was difficult to feel triumphant. He’d been hoping that there would be _something_ within the verse to help him prove that the others should have come to _Creativity_ first. 

A fool’s hope. If it had just been Logan he may have had a chance, but Patton was Thomas’s heart. He could be just as romantic as Roman was. Padre would have had no problem piecing the clues together. Especially if it meant helping his  _ Strange Dark Son.  _

“Virgil needs to be kissed under the full moon by or perhaps  _ in _ water.” Simple. Easy. And if both Logan and Patton had failed to understand that--Roman shook his head, moving closer to the water’s edge. “The only confusing part is why it didn’t work for either of you.” 

The curse didn’t sound like it needed to be true love’s kiss. The Dragon Witch always was specific about that. But Virgil shared close if not--dare he say it? _ Loving _ bonds with the both Logic and Morality. Far closer than Stormy McCloud ever had, or probably ever would with Roman. “Did you actually try kissing him in the lake or just greet him with a friendly hello, Specs?” 

Logan ducked his head and Roman could swear the nerd had turned red. “I--I--greeting verbally was what I wanted to do...but Pat convinced me that a kiss was needed. We tried doing so both in and by the lake. Patton the first night, me the second.” 

_ Both.  _ And it didn’t work. It  _ should  _ have though. All the pieces were there.  _ Shadows.  _ Virgil.  _ Full moon’s light.  _ Full Moon.  _ Where water pools?  _ Didn’t sound specific so the lake would work.  _ Greet him softly with all your love?  _ More tricky, but still sounded like Kissing to him.  _ A single need?  _ Make Virgil normal. Kiss to make him normal.  _ Accepting what you’re deprived of?  _ Well the others had been far quicker to accept Virgil as one of them than Roman had, recognizing that they needed him to help Thomas function. 

All the pieces were there to break the curse.

_ And it hadn’t worked.  _

No wonder Logan wanted him to think more carefully. He looked up, watching the full moon rising over head. Three nights of a full moon. Three chances. Pat and Lo had already tried the first two.

_ Tried and failed.  _

Leaving him to save the da--night.

_ If it could be saved.  _

But he and Virgil hardly had a relationship with any sort of love in it. Not after so many years of hatred on both sides. 

_ You’re going to fail.  _

“However, if you are confident that it is a kiss...then, Roman...you only have tonight to free him from it.” Logan said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Once the Moon sets, Virgil will permanently become part of the shadows and stars and we’ll never--” He cut off, shakily inhaling. “We’ll never see him again.”

_Never?_ Never see their Emo Nightmare again? A chill rushed down his spine. Sure, there had been a time when the news would have had Roman singing his joy loud and clear from the top of the tallest mountain. But now? Not so much. 

_ You’re gonna fail.  _

And the others would never forgive him if he did. Roman shrugged off Logan’s hand, giving him another confident smile he didn’t feel. “Not to worry, Specs. Virgil will be right as rain soon enough. You can count on me.”

_ Can he? _

Lo seemed to search his eyes for an eternity before he nodded, clearing his throat. “Then I shall leave you to it, Roman. Patton tells me that this sort of thing is done best…” He looked away, rubbing at his arm. “Without an audience.” 

Roman swallowed back a choked laugh. Yah. Talk about awkward. He could picture far too easily. Logan watching him with notepad in hand, ready to jot down the results of--

_ Your failure.  _

“Sounds good to me, Specs.” He turned away, holding Virgil close. If he needed to  _ kiss  _ their resident Edgelord he would prefer to do it out of sight of the castle windows. “Why don’t you wait inside the Castle?” He suggested over his shoulder as he strode away, searching for a more secluded spot along the shoreline. “I’ll bring Virgil back to you soon enough.”

He could only hope that that wasn’t a lie. Logan hadn’t shouted falsehood at him, so that… had to be something right?

But with every step Roman took, his doubts only increased. 

_ You don’t love him. _

_ You barely tolerate him. _

_ You two aren’t even  _ friends. 

_How can you greet him with ALL_ _your love if there is NONE to begin with?_

Roman grimaced. “Not true.” He whispered. He and Virgil had some--he exhaled, drawing a blank on what exactly they could love about each other as he stared down at the former dark side, watching as a red galaxy chased a purple one from Virgil’s shoulder down to his hip before vanishing around the other side. 

_ Under Full Moon’s Light.  _

_ Where Water Pools.  _

Roman glanced to the lake, gauging the distance from the shore to the moon’s reflection crossing the still waters. 

Maybe he would have to Swan Princess this. 

“Sorry Virge.” He whispered, moving into the lake, the splashing of each step sounding like thunder to his ears. 

Though if Logan and Patton had both kissed him in water, then Virgil could hardly complain about getting wet again. 

He probably would though. Sir Pessimist hardly liked much of what Roman did. Ever. 

_ This isn’t going to work. _

Roman gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his footing on the rocky bottom, holding Virgil as tightly as he dared so his shadowy form, barely weighing more than a feather, wouldn’t slip from his grip. “It has to.” He whispered.

_ Please. _

Everyone was counting on him.

He couldn’t fail them.

_ Not again.  _

He reached the moon’s reflection just as the water reached waist high. Not the most comfortable of positions to kiss someone in for sure. On the nearby rocky outcropping nearby would have been better, but that wasn’t in the water nor in the moon’s reflection. So this...this would have to do. 

“Alright, Stormcloud.” Roman said, carefully brushing dark bangs away from Virgil’s shadowy face. “Time to break your curse.” 

_ But you don’t love him.  _

Roman swallowed, closing his eyes. 

No, he didn’t love Virge. Not like...not like the others did. He was still learning...still trying to...to see Anxiety in a better light than as the villain. 

_ And that’s why you’re gonna fail.  _

Because wasn’t it contradictory? How could Roman greet Virgil with all his love...when he didn’t have love for him yet? 

He was barely beginning to--to  _ like  _ the guy,  _ accept  _ that Virgil could help Thomas and now--now---

_ You’re gonna fail.  _

It was just a kiss. 

One kiss.

Roman exhaled, opening his eyes as he trailed fingers down Virgil’s cheek, tracing the angular edges as a rainbow galaxy crossed over the bridge of his nose. “Hey, V--uh...Virge-” No too informal. “Hey, Virgil.” He whispered, leaning in. “This won’t hurt, I promise.” 

_ Greet him softly with all your love. _

Love.

Just one kiss.

_ “I guess consent isn’t really that important?”  _

Roman paused, a hair's breadth from brushing lips with Edgy McEdgelord, his heart twisting in his chest hard enough to tear in two. 

Virgil had never liked the idea of breaking curses through kissing. He’d said so himself when they’d filmed  The Dark Side of Disney with Thomas. It wasn’t---it didn’t  _ feel  _ right to kiss him now when he had no say. 

_ Not even to lift a curse? _

Logan and Patton had both tried it. And it hadn’t worked. Why would it work for Roman when Virgil didn’t even  _ like  _ him! 

_ You’re gonna fail.  _

Roman drew a shaky breath, eyes burning as he fought to keep his composure. “I’m... sorry, Virgil.” He choked out, betraying tears falling onto Stormcloud’s cheeks as he closed his eyes. 

If only he had been nicer to the Emo Nightmare. Been more--more of the sort of Prince that Virgil deserved. The sort of person where Anxiety wouldn’t have hesitated to come to him for help. Would have trusted Roman to save the day as soon as the curse had been placed instead--instead--of--

_ Some Prince. _

Roman held Virgil close, more tears freely falling from his eyes. “I--I want to help you--sa--save you. But--but--I can’t--not like--like  _ this _ \---I’m sorry _. _ ”

_ The others were right to not come straight to you. _

_ You can’t even give a simple kiss.  _

_ Just. One. Kiss.  _

But that wasn’t what Virgil would want!

Roman gritted his teeth.

_ Think. THINK!  _ There HAD to be some other way to return Virgil to his normal pale skinned, raccoon eyed, hoodie wearing self. There had to be something he had missed in the poem. Some clue that would save the day. That would bring--

Virgil stirred in his arms, a soft moan coming from his lips. 

Roman’s eyes flashed open, his breath catching in his throat as blazing light nearly blinded him where he'd expected to only be confronted with Virgil's shadowed self.

_ Where water pools, the curse shall break. _

Every tear of Roman’s that had fallen onto Virgil’s face was glowing a bright brilliant gold, leaving pale unmarked skin behind where they had streaked as Anxiety again stirred in his arms. 

Raising a shaking hand, not quite believing what he was seeing, Roman carefully brushed one of the golden tears with his thumb, leaving a large swath of pale skin across Virgil’s cheek in the process. 

_ Tears.  _ Not a body of water. Not the lake. TEARS. That was the answer! 

“Virgil?” Roman whispered.

Another soft moan rewarded him as Virgil’s eyelids fluttered, the galaxies disappearing from his skin as his hands twitched, reaching out to grab onto Roman’s sash. “ _ Ro? _ ” He mumbled.

Ro.

Not Princey.

Ro.

Fresh golden tears fell onto Virgil, washing away more shadows as Roman nodded, a shaky smile spreading across his face. “Yah, Virge. It’s me. You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay. I got you.” He said, turning back to the shoreline.

“You---” Virgil gripped his sash tighter, opening pale eyes that glimmered like the stars above them. “Did you--” He licked his lips, splotched red and black as the shadows continued to fade from him.

“Kiss you to break the curse?” Roman looked away, his own heart jumping into his throat. Careful. This was shaky ground for both of them. “No, Eugene Fitzherbert I--” He shrugged, stepping from the water onto the shore. “I remembered your dislike of that particular...method. Your lips are safe from mine. I ended up Rapunzeling your curse away instead of Princeing it.” 

By complete accident, but no one needed to know that.

Virgil relaxed, resting his head against his chest as one hand brushed at the tears on his cheeks. “You actually...cried for me? I thought--”

Roman tightened his grip. “Thought?” Despite himself he looked down, meeting Virge’s star colored eyes. 

Virgil licked his lips again before he shrugged, ducking his head. “I thought you’d be singing, actually.” He mumbled.

Si-- _ Sing?  _ Roman blinked. How would that have broken---

“You know.” He gestured vaguely about. “ _ Flower gleam and glow?”  _

_ Oh. _

Roman chuckled, shaking his head. That would have made sense...golden tears and all. “Well-- I can do that too.” It would be something to do beyond walking back to the castle in an awkward silence.

Virgil huffed, his purpling bangs falling into his face. “So long as it’s not done in your romano cheesy fashion.--I--I would like that...Ro.”

_ Ro. _

For that nickname? Roman would gladly sing to the top of the mountains and back. He nodded, flashing him a brilliant smile. “Then prepared to be serenaded all the way back to the castle, Virgilicious. I shan’t deprive you further of the glorious piece of heaven that is my voice.”

He halfway expected to hear Virgil groan at that, but as he drew breath to sing the first notes, Virge merely relaxed in his arms, fingers once more curling around his sash as Roman walked them back along the water’s edge, the full moon shining brightly above them. 


End file.
